Store-service conveyer system.



S. OLSON.

STORE SERVICE CONVEYER SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2. 1914.

1,142,453. PatentedJune 8,1915.

SAMUEL OLSON, 01E" CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STORE-SERVICE CONVEYEB SYSTEM.

To all'whomz't ma concern:

Be it known t at I, SAMUEL OLSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook-and State of lllinois have invented new and useful Improvements in Store-Service Conveyer Systems, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompan ing drawings, forming a part thereof.

T is invention relates to conveying apparatus articularly designed for handling merchan 'se in stores or warehouses and it is, therefore described in its relation to sfuch use although its utilit is not necessarily' limited to this class 0 service.

4 The invention consists in the features and combinations of the elements described and shown in the drawings as indicated by the invent on. Fi 2 is a detail section on a neath the vertical conveyer.

larger scale ta en as indicated at line 2-2 on Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail section taken as indicated at line 3--3 on Fig. 2.

The conveyer system shown in the drawin comprises two continuously traveling be ts, A and B,-respectively, the former being mounted for vertical travel and the latter' being guided to pass horizontally bep The belts, A and B, may be very satisfactorily constructed of a thick cotton fabric formin a webbin two or three feet in width. he vertica y traveling belt, A, has fixed to it at intervals buckets, C, preferably comosed of sheet metal and hinged to the It at 0. Each bucket consists of a bottom which is bent upwardly at'C to form with the belt, 'A, a trough closed at each end by the fiat side-walls, C, of the bucket. When this conveyer is installed in a store the several articles composing a single purchaseqand enumerated on a bill or memorandum will be deposited in one of the buckets, C, with such bill and lowered thereby to the inspecting and shipping department. As the bucket, C, pases around the foot wheel, D, of the vertical conveyer Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 2, 1914. Serial No. 821,862.

Patented June 8, 1915.

compact arrangement of the articles dis-' chair ed from the buckets, C, there is prov1 e form approximately to the ath of the bucket as it rounds the foot w eel, D, and serving to retain the articles inthe bucket and gradually assume the support of said articles untilthe hinge, C, starts on its upward travel and the bucket is thus withdrawn from under its load. The group of articles thus deposited on the apron, B, will be slowly carried past the inspector and if found in satisfactory condition may be delivered by the same conveyer, B, to the wrapping department where they will be removed from the apron and prepared for shipment. The conveyer, B, may be of the .very simplest construction as it is merely a traveling table or support for the articles; if desired it may be reinforced b auxiliary supsporting rollers, B, dispose at interva throughout its length.

As the bucket,vC, of the vertical conveyer passes around the foot wheel, D, and proceeds upward it will depend from its supportin hinge, C, as indicated in Fig. I, the slots, 5*, in the side walls, 0, permitting the bucket to swing inwardly toward the belt so as to occupy less space than when extended in carrying position, thus reducing the necessary size of the containing shaft. In addition to reducing the necessary size of the shaft for the vertical conveyer the collapsible nature of the buckets increases the safety of operation, for the arm or head of a person momentarily extended inside of the shaft will not be seriously injuredby contact with a descending bucket, since the bucket will readily fold upward leaving a clearance space in the shaft, and similarly if the rate of travel of the conveyer, B, should be such that the buckets, C, in rounding the foot wheel, D, might collide with.

previously deposited material on the belt, B, said buckets would simply yield by swinging about their hinges and would have no tendency to forcibly dislodge such material from its position on the horizontal apron.

It will be understood that as the bucket passes over the head wheel, F, it will resume its extended position in which it is supported by the engagement of a rod, G, with the ends of the slots, C. Therod, G, is carried in hangers, G secured rigidl to the belt, A, said hangers being slot to permit a certain amount of play of the rod,

a shield or guard, E, curved to con till G, in the direction of travel of the belt, such play being required in order that the belt may conform to the arc of the head or foot wheel as the bucket passes around either of said wheels.

Preferably, in order to maintain a fairly accurate time relation between the rates of travel of the two conveyers they should be operatively connected together as by thebelt indicated at H, and when it is found more convenient to apply the power at the head of the vertical conveyer, A, as by the belt, J, a take-up device, K, will be provided for the foot wheel, l), to keep both sides of the belt, A, fairly tight. To keep the belt, A, properly centered on the head and foot wheels, D and F, the side walls, C of the buckets may extend back of the plane of the belt so as to act as flanges on the belt as the buckets. pass around said wheels; and these extending flanges of the bucket walls will preferably be formed with slightly flared projections, C to insure their proper engagement with the ends of the wheels, D and F, when necessary.

I claim v 1. In combination, a downwardly traveling belt, guiding means at the lower limit of its travel about which the belt passes horizontally, load-supporting means extending from said belt transversely of the direction of travel both during the downward movement and also during the horizontal travel, whereby the load is gravitationally discharged, and a horizontally traveling conveyer disposed below said guiding means in position to receive the load discharged.

2. ln combination, a conveyer comprising a downwardly traveling belt, a foot wheel around which said belt passes, a load support connected to the belt at two places separated longitudinally of the latter, whereby said support is caused to extend transversely from said belt both during its downward travel and while rounding the said foot wheel, and a horizontally traveling conveyerdisposed under the foot wheel.

3. ln combination, a conveyer comprising a downwardlytravelin belt, load-supporting means extending dierefrom t ransvcrsely of the direction of travel, guiding means at the lower limit of such travel about which the belt passes horizontally for discharging its load. a horizontally traveling conveyer disposed below said guiding means in position to receive the load thus discharged, and a fixed guard which extends proximate to the path of said load-supporting means as the belt passes the said guiding means at its lower limit of travel, said guard serving to prevent premature discharge of theload.

4. In combination, a conveyer comprising a downwardly traveling belt, load-support ing means extending therefrom transversely meat ess of the direction of travel, guiding means at the lower limit of such travel about which the belt passes horizontally for discharging its load, a horizontally traveling conveyer disposed below said guiding means in position to receive the load thus discharged, and a fixed guard which extends proximate to the path of said load-supporting means as the belt passes the said guiding means at its lower limit of travel, said guard serving to prevent premature discharge of the load and terminating in a sloping portion directed toward the horizontal conveyer.

5. In combination, a conveyer comprising a head wheel, a foot wheel, a continuous belt carried thereon, a horizontally traveling conveyer disposed below the foot wheel, a load support extending transversely from the said belt at its descending ply for conveying a load downwardly and discharging it onto said horizontal conveyer, said load support being hinged to the belt and thus adapted to yield by folding of its supporting surface toward said belt to diminish its extent trans versely therefrom.

6. In combination, a conveyer comprising a downwardly traveling belt, load-supporting means extending transversely therefrom at intervals in the length of said belt, guiding means at the lower limit of travel about which the belt passes horizontally for discharging the loads from said supporting means, a horizontally traveling conveyer disposed below said guiding means in position to receive the loads thus discharged, and

operative connections between said convey ers for timing them with respect to each other to control the spacing of the loads deposited on the horizontal conveyer.

7. A vertical conveyer comprising a belt,

an upwardly open bucket extending transversely from the descending ply thereof, the bottom of said bucket being hinged to the belt and the side walls thereoi being posi tio'ned beyond the edges of said belt whereis by the bucket is adapted to collapse by folding of its load-supporting surface toward the belt, and means for limiting such swing of the bucket upon its hinge.

8. In a vertical conveyer, comprising a belt and an upwardly open bucket extending transversely from the descending ply there of, the bottom of said bucket being hinged to the belt, and its side walls being positioned beyond the edges of said belt to permit collapse of the bucket by folding of its bottom toward the belt, a rod, and means by which it is secured to the belt with a lim ited amount of play longitudinally thereof, the side walls of the buckets having curved slots engaging said rod for limiting the swing of the bucket toward and from the belt.

9. lln a conveyer, comprising a head wheel, a foot wheel and a belt mounted for travel meaeee thereon, buckets disposed at intervals along said belt and each comprising a bottom extending transversely from the belt, and side walls positioned beyond the edges of the belt and extending back of its plane to serve as flanges for centering the belt on said wheels.

10. In a conveyer, comprising a head wheel, a foot wheel and a belt mounted for travel thereon, buckets disposed an intervals along said belt and each comprising a bottom extending transversely from the belt, and side Walls positioned beyond the edges of the belt and extending back of its plane to serve as flanges for centering the belt on 15 In testimony whereof I have hereunto set 20 my hand at Chicago, Illinois, this 26th day of February, 1914.

- SAMUEL OLSUN.

Witnesses:

Roar. N. BURTON, EDNA M. MAclN'rosnt. 

